Is Patrician's scorn the go to boggles SB card? I have played 3 boggles decks in the last 8 matches at FNMs and have lost 2 of the 3. Discard helps a ton, but having all of your removal blanked is killer. (Damnation/Wrath of God is too late at T4 because they usually have a totem armor)
Is Fulminator Mage too strong for a rerun through standard? I would love to pick up a playset of that guy but not when he costs more than Snappy. That is just crazy town
To all of the Tarmo haters, what are you playing that it is so hard to kill a two drop? I play deadguy ale, and a tarmogoyf rarely ever wins games.
Umm, you play black and white, but if you look at the three other colors in magic, namely red, green and blue, these colors actually have a really hard time getting rid of the ridiculously overpowered Lhurgoyf. Black and white are actually the only colors with practical spot removal for tarmogoyf. One of them, Path to Exile, involves giving your opponent free lands, to help the goyf-player start attacking with his manlands in addition to his cheesy Lhurgoyfs. Abrupt Decay is another answer, mainly played in other goyf-decks. So there is a few practical answers to Tarmogoyf, but the goyf-player very often takes those away turn 1 with a Thoughtseize or Inquisition of Kozilek so goyf can roam free.
Do you know why the BGW Junk decks is the top competitive deck while your BW deck is only tier 2? One important reason is that they have a very overpowered and easily splashed 2-drop(goyf) 4/5 that you don't have access to in BW. Your BW substitutes to goyf dont even come close to his powerlevel. You should splash green for goyf. That will also give you access to Abrupt Decay, an uncounterable and more flexible removal spell than Doom Blade and Smother.
And that is why I LOOOVE LOVE LOVE this game. The color pie is a thing of beauty. Every color shouldn't have answers to everything. Heck, Maro just wrote about this same thing this very week. Red does direct damage, so obviously it should struggle with something with a huge butt. Blue can counter the goyf AND bounce it, and green is really the only color that will struggle with a huge goyf. You ask why I don't play green, its for money reasons. I'm not willing to pay that extra 900 just for a couple of vanilla beaters. Lingering Souls does just fine for me.
Seriously though, what are you playing in modern right now that a Tarmogoyf means the end of the world?
Let's take some scenarios on the scary meter.
T2 Goyf: 5/10
T2 Birthing Pod Game 1: 8/10
T2 All Tron Lands assembled: 8/10
Playing a twin player match 1: 7/10 pretty much the entire game.
While I agree that the price of Tarmogoyf is ridiculous, it is by far one of the cards I least worry about in Modern. To all of the Tarmo haters, what are you playing that it is so hard to kill a two drop? I play deadguy ale, and a tarmogoyf rarely ever wins games. Doomblade and Smother are my two best buds. Heck, Path to Exile is great. And you can chump him all day with lingering souls tokens. I get that he is a 2 man 3/4+ but seriously? There are way more important Modern-defining cards to worry about.
BBD is advocating Sorin Lord of Innistrad in the deck and I've been toying around with elspeth a bit. Does anyone else have any experience with either of these 2 walkers? If so what are your opinions on them?
I have played with Sorin, Lord of Innistrad as a two-of for the better part of a year. That being said, he is just not that good right now. When I started playing when DRS was everywhere, Sorin was great at recouping at least a little life because I was always shocking/bolting myself to leave mana up for Dismember/Path to Exile T1. Now, the tokens really are not that great against Pod and Twin, and the ultimate almost never happens (I have used Sorin's ultimate 3 times in 100+ Modern matches). When Brimaz came out, I dropped both for a pair of Brimaz's and now currently run 1 Brimaz and 1 Sword of War and Peace where the Sorin's used to be and it has been great
For your first FNM the most important thing is to have fun. If Master of the Feast brings a smile to your face. Then do it man! Modern is great because the tweaking part, where you find the optimal levels for your deck like card choice, is one of the best parts. You will have a ton of time to find out what works and what doesnt
I assume half these cards have strictly better upgrades I just don't know about yet. And I have very little idea what the format plays like aside from a couple of times modern cubing with some guys at the LGS
Just posting this as a thought - still looking for other interesting possible starting-point cards!
Those are your business spells. Generator Servant is just a tad too slow (Chief Engineer and Burning-Tree Emmissary can both get the Superion out the turn it was played)
Ensoul Artifact is a possible 2 for 1 to yourself. Really though this is a good starting point. Just jam some splashy ginormous artifacts like Duplicant and Myr Battlesphere (the Battlesphere can be pump out even more artifacts with Chief Engineer) and you are set.
Most of these creatures pass the bolt test, aren't played much, and are strong enough for a modern brew (meaning not necessarily strong enough for T1, but for a brew sure)
Oooh Thank you for the reply! I completely missed the 3 CMC clause on Zur. Yep, I will most definitely now be cutting Dictate plus some number of Lingering Souls now. I am planning on playing this in the next two weeks, but my reasoning behind at least one Brimaz is that Geist of Saint Traft is a fantastic card, but man he is weak on defense. Brimaz helps shore things up, (this is coming from my Deadguy ale experience) enabling you to retake board position.
I have been playing a ton of Deadguy Ale lately with good success and wondered what it would be like to add a Zur toolbox. It looks so hateful to me. What do you guys think?
Reading the original post, I very much get the feeling that Aaron Forsythe is challenging us to really innovate in the format and come up with some new decks. I think his choice of words by describing the format as "stale" conveys the message that, yes, WOTC has a part of the blame, but also that we haven't done enough to keep the format fresh.
I very much understand that we aren't all of a sudden going to break the format with a new deck, but I do believe that as a community we should constantly be trying new decks and new ideas to try and get a deck into the top 2 tiers.
For example, on Brian Kibler's blog, he has a deck idea involving Lingering Souls, Loxodon Smiter and Wilt-Leaf Liege as a sort of GW beatdown deck that looks promising/cool. We need mor of that
Why didn't I think of Geist of Saint Traft?! That card is perfect for this deck as I would like to be applying pressure early which Kira nor Skaab Ruinator do (in this deck the ruinator comes out T4 if that). Isamaru is also a good idea as well.
So guys this is just an idea that I have been thinking about lately and it stems from me thinking how I could jam some of my favorite/under-appreciated cards into a single modern deck (namely Skaab Ruinator and Ephara, God of the Polis . With what appears a surge in BGx decks, I think this deck would perform well.
But here are a couple of awesome things this deck can do:
Playing a Sun Titan and grabbing a Skaab Ruinator with no drawback
Being able to play Skaab Ruinator from your graveyard at instant speed with Teferi out.
This deck looks a little weak to Twin (only 4 thalias and 4 path to exiles main) but other than that doesn't look that bad.
Finally you might be thinking, why no Hedron Crab to fill up your graveyard?? The answer is I don't want this deck to be super reliant on the GY. I just don't want to play Modern where my deck just rolls over and dies to Rest in Peace, Scavenging Ooze, and Relic of Progenitus
Anyway what do you think? How could I improve upon this 36? Thanks!
And that is why I LOOOVE LOVE LOVE this game. The color pie is a thing of beauty. Every color shouldn't have answers to everything. Heck, Maro just wrote about this same thing this very week. Red does direct damage, so obviously it should struggle with something with a huge butt. Blue can counter the goyf AND bounce it, and green is really the only color that will struggle with a huge goyf. You ask why I don't play green, its for money reasons. I'm not willing to pay that extra 900 just for a couple of vanilla beaters. Lingering Souls does just fine for me.
Seriously though, what are you playing in modern right now that a Tarmogoyf means the end of the world?
Let's take some scenarios on the scary meter.
T2 Goyf: 5/10
T2 Birthing Pod Game 1: 8/10
T2 All Tron Lands assembled: 8/10
Playing a twin player match 1: 7/10 pretty much the entire game.
I have played with Sorin, Lord of Innistrad as a two-of for the better part of a year. That being said, he is just not that good right now. When I started playing when DRS was everywhere, Sorin was great at recouping at least a little life because I was always shocking/bolting myself to leave mana up for Dismember/Path to Exile T1. Now, the tokens really are not that great against Pod and Twin, and the ultimate almost never happens (I have used Sorin's ultimate 3 times in 100+ Modern matches). When Brimaz came out, I dropped both for a pair of Brimaz's and now currently run 1 Brimaz and 1 Sword of War and Peace where the Sorin's used to be and it has been great
4 Myr Superion
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
3 chief engineer
3 scuttling doom engine
4 ornithopter
4 memnite
4 lightning bolt
3 spell pierce
2 serum visions
LANDS
3 darksteel citadel
4 temple of epiphany
4 shivan reef
4 steam vents
3 mountain
1 island
3 mutavault
Those are your business spells. Generator Servant is just a tad too slow (Chief Engineer and Burning-Tree Emmissary can both get the Superion out the turn it was played)
Ensoul Artifact is a possible 2 for 1 to yourself. Really though this is a good starting point. Just jam some splashy ginormous artifacts like Duplicant and Myr Battlesphere (the Battlesphere can be pump out even more artifacts with Chief Engineer) and you are set.
Prophetic Flamespeaker
Skaab Ruinator
Burning-Tree Shaman (not really to build around but he doesn't really see play other than in shamans)
Myr Superion and Chief Engineer. I've yet to see a deck in person play these two (although I have seen ideas here)
Huntmaster of the Fells
Dungrove Elder
Chasm Skulker
Most of these creatures pass the bolt test, aren't played much, and are strong enough for a modern brew (meaning not necessarily strong enough for T1, but for a brew sure)
2 Caves of Koilos
4 Glacial Fortress
3 Godless Shrine
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Plains
1 Seachrome Coast
3 Swamp
1 Darkblast
2 Gitaxian Probe
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Path to Exile
2 Thoughtseize
2 Smother
3 Spreading Seas
2 Suppression Field
3 Tidehollow Sculler
2 Banishing Light
1 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2 Geist of Saint Traft
4 Lingering Souls
3 Zur the Enchanter
1 Dictate of Heliod
1 Circle of Protection: Red
1 Disenchant
1 Rest in Peace
1 Spirit of the Labyrinth
2 Stony Silence
1 Torpor Orb
2 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Herald of Torment
1 Master of the Feast
1 Timely Reinforcements
1 Wrath of God
The Lands and Sideboard are not nailed down at all
I very much understand that we aren't all of a sudden going to break the format with a new deck, but I do believe that as a community we should constantly be trying new decks and new ideas to try and get a deck into the top 2 tiers.
For example, on Brian Kibler's blog, he has a deck idea involving Lingering Souls, Loxodon Smiter and Wilt-Leaf Liege as a sort of GW beatdown deck that looks promising/cool. We need mor of that
4 Path to Exile
4 Phantasmal Bear
2 Deputy of Acquittals
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Wall of Omens
1 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
3 Skaab Ruinator
2 Ephara, God of the Polis
3 Restoration Angel
2 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
2 Sun Titan
Right now I'm not even worried about the lands.
But here are a couple of awesome things this deck can do:
Playing a Sun Titan and grabbing a Skaab Ruinator with no drawback
Being able to play Skaab Ruinator from your graveyard at instant speed with Teferi out.
And a super ridiculous one that would never happen: Opponent targets your Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir with a Dismember, in response, you flash in a Sun Titan grabbing a Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
This deck looks a little weak to Twin (only 4 thalias and 4 path to exiles main) but other than that doesn't look that bad.
Finally you might be thinking, why no Hedron Crab to fill up your graveyard?? The answer is I don't want this deck to be super reliant on the GY. I just don't want to play Modern where my deck just rolls over and dies to Rest in Peace, Scavenging Ooze, and Relic of Progenitus
Anyway what do you think? How could I improve upon this 36? Thanks!